This new release in the Electronic Youth series showcases a good variety of
electronic/industrial artists mostly from Europe, with styles ranging from
aggressive electro to gothic-tinged electro to electro-pop. I would say this is
just as good, if not better, than Volume 2. All the tracks are well produced,
and no matter what your tastes are in industrial music, almost all the songs
are enjoyable to hear. The track by Angst Pop sounds like a speedup Battery,
but with lyrics in French and a little less angst. The track by Mastertune is a
very solid electro track, but it is too reminiscent of Front 242 for most of
the track. The track by Neo Tec is an instrumental in a fast-paced techno
style, but with the beginning and ending parts of the song presenting some
keyboard washes which give the impression that you have been overcome by a
slow, erotic movement. The track by Sacred Implant is a slow, mesmerizing
track, which has a hint of evil to it. The track by Covenant is one of my
favorite as the music is somewhat similar to F242, but the vocals have a deeper
emotion to them and they put in some nice keyboard washes through parts of the
song. Signal's track falls into the electro-pop vein, very similar to Depeche
Mode, and the song tends to grow on you after a few listens. The track by Delay
is along the same line, but has more of a house and R&B influence to the song.
The track by Voice of Destruction, one of the few American bands on this
release is probably the most aggressive on this release and comes across as
sort of gothic marching song, which makes this track seem out of place on this
compilation. There are no terrible or filler songs on this release and if
you're looking for to explore the different flavors of industrial music, this
would be a good compilation to check out.
(Kevin Congdon)